dark humour

Dark humour novels often deal with serious or taboo topics like death, war, and social problems in a humorous way. For example, they might make jokes about the absurdity of war or the silliness of human behavior in the face of mortality.

One characteristic is that they often deal with taboo or serious topics in a light - hearted or unexpected way. For example, death, which is normally a very solemn subject, can be made into a joke in dark humour stories. Like the story where a man at his own funeral wakes up and says, 'You guys are making way too much noise.', which turns the very serious event of a funeral into something with a bit of dark comical twist.

They often use irony. In dark humour short stories, things are not as they seem on the surface. The situation might be really bad, but the way it's presented, like through the use of sarcasm or a play on words, makes it humorous in a dark way. Take 'The Cask of Amontillado' where the narrator's false friendship and his act of revenge are told in a way that has this ironic and darkly humorous undertone.

Sure. Here's one. A man goes to the doctor and says, 'Doctor, I keep seeing into the future.' The doctor says, 'When did this start?' The man replies, 'Next Tuesday.'

The contrast. Dark humour and crime seem like an odd pair but that's what makes it appealing. It's like mixing the seriousness of crime with the levity of humour. It makes you laugh at things that are normally quite disturbing.

One popular dark humour novel is 'Catch - 22' by Joseph Heller. It satirizes the military bureaucracy during World War II. Another is 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk, which delves into themes of consumerism and masculinity in a darkly humorous way. Also, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams is filled with dark humour as it takes readers on a wild, absurd journey through the universe.

Sure. 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk is a great one. It has a darkly humorous take on consumer culture and masculinity within a rather 'crime - like' context of the fight club itself. Another is 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis which uses dark humour to satirize the excesses of the 1980s yuppie culture while also being a disturbing crime - centered story.

One is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. It's set in a small town where every year there's a lottery. At first, it seems like a normal event, but in the end, the 'winner' gets stoned to death by the townspeople. It's a chilling yet darkly humorous look at how blindly following tradition can be dangerous.

The use of irony is a big characteristic. Consider a story where a fitness fanatic is always talking about healthy eating but is caught secretly eating a whole box of chocolates. This irony creates humour. Satire can also be present in English humour stories. They can poke fun at social norms or human vices. And of course, the element of exaggeration, like a man claiming he has a million things to do when in fact he just has a few errands, is also quite common in these stories.

One characteristic is unexpected twists. For example, in a story where a character is expecting one thing to happen, like getting a big promotion at work, but instead they end up getting a job as a janitor in the same company. Another is the use of exaggerated characters. A character might be extremely clumsy or overly confident, which leads to humorous situations. Also, a lot of humour long stories play with language, like using puns or mispronunciations.